Hugs
by pinkconchshell
Summary: You all saw Beast Boy pull back from the hug, right? Well he felt REALLY bad and decided to hug Raven back on several occasions to show her that he really does care. But, it's not long before he starts to care more than he should...did that make sense?


Hugs

Yeah…couldn't think of a better title. But anyways: Raven and Beast Boy. Yup. Had to do it, couldn't stop me. Oh, btw, don't own Teen Titans. Or Batman, or Disneyland. Sadly.

_You idiot,_ Beast boy thought sullenly as he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Raven had hugged him. _Hugged _him. And like an idiot, he had pulled back. Why, oh, why had he pulled back? He thought back to that moment…when she had grabbed him and full-on embraced him, holding on like he was her lifeline. And he just stood there like a complete imbecile until he went and pulled back. And it wasn't like it had been an unpleasant hug- it had just surprised him. _Idiot_! He thought again. _That's not good enough. _Why did he have to pull back?

He remembered the look on her face when he had pulled back. For a split second he saw surprise there too, like she couldn't believe she had just done that. He didn't blame her – he half didn't even believe it himself. And not even a millisecond later he saw her eyes dull and her face recompose as she withdrew once more, back, away into that barrier she had built for herself. And after all that 'you're not alone' talk too. He snorted. Raven was right. He was an absolute _idiot_.

But why could he not get it out of his mind? That hug had been over a week ago, and they had resumed their natural relationship; that is to say, Beast Boy would annoy her to no end trying to make her laugh, and she would ultimately threaten to send him to another dimension. Yet he had noticed a slight difference; they were more polite to each other, more careful, exchanging cautious smiles here and there when the others weren't looking. She hadn't hugged him again, though. If anything, it seemed like Raven was trying to avoid coming in contact with him. Even in combat, she would use her powers from afar instead of manually coming to his aid.

_Idiot! _He thought again. _Why did you have to pull back?_

If only he had hugged her, too. If only he hadn't been so stupid and wrapped his arms around her and embraced her with mutual warmth. Raven wasn't exactly known for her affectionate nature. And as far as he knew, Beast Boy was the only one on the team whom she had hugged. The thought made his pulse race, and his heightened senses allowed him to hear his heart begin to stutter. Though why it did, he wasn't exactly sure. If only there was some way to show her that he had meant what he said, about Raven not being alone. To prove to her that Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and especially himself, cared deeply about her and that her "creepiness" (_Idiot!)_ was actually endearing to them.

And then a thought struck him. A thought that was so brilliantly simple and ingenious, it was sure to work. What if he could _hug her back_? Yes, yes, it was perfect! True, the thought was about seven days late on his part, but oh, who cared, he would hug her back once, twice, ten times, however many times it took to get Raven to see just how much he really, truly…well, it was a good plan. And foolproof, too. Robin and Cyborg wouldn't suspect a thing. As for Starfire…girls had a frightening sixth sense of some sort…but she was always so hung up over Robin she probably wouldn't even notice.

Yes, yes, hugging Raven back was what he would do. It made so much sense, really, that he smiled to himself in the darkness and silently congratulated himself on the brilliancy of his plan. Filled with such inspiration, Beast Boy sat up and heaved himself off the top bunk, even adding an extra-cool midair flip before he landed on the ground in a graceful crouch, and bolted out the door. He returned in half a moment however, realizing sheepishly that it was the middle of the night and that she was probably asleep.

It was quite some time before he was able to muster up the courage to carry out his (mastermind) plan. An entire fortnight (tee hee: I'm not British but I've been wanting to use that in a sentence!) passed until an opportunity finally arose. Beast Boy had been waiting patiently for one of their 'moments', as she so put it, to come into play, but so far the chance hadn't presented itself. And yet finally, at long last, the moment came when he knew Raven would allow him to hug her and he would be able to get away with it without so much of a glare on her part. The only thing that was even remotely able to stop him were his nerves. Mustering up the courage to hug Raven out of the blue was something even their Fearless Boy Wonder could not accomplish.

It happened when she agreed to help Beast Boy record Robin singing his favorite song in the shower. Christmas was fast approaching, and the Titans were beginning to ease themselves into the holiday spirits. Having just returned from the mall with Starfire, and laden with all the packages she had made him carry, Robin walked into the living room with a rare, easy smile on his youthful face and was talking animatedly with his friends.

Beast Boy, who was standing by the stove making eggnog, was watching Raven carefully out of the corner of his eye. He had been doing that quite often, if he admitted it to himself, but he attributed this merely to his vigilance of looking out for the perfect time to catch her off her guard. She set her book down carefully when Robin and Starfire walked in, and actually got up to go and greet them.

"…and they had popcorn covered with caramel, and an enormous tree that remains forever green, and even some of those wonderful nails of plastic!" Starfire was telling her happily. "Oh, I do wish you would have come, friend Raven!"

Raven caught Beast Boy's eye and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she gave him a meaningful gaze. Spirits soaring, he grinned down at his eggnog and began to put his plan into action as he shifted his eyes to Robin.

"Hey, Robin," he called from the counter. Robin tore his eyes away from Starfire long enough to spare Beast Boy a disinterested glance.

"Eh?" he asked, focusing back on Star.

"Some old dude left a couple of packages for you while you were out," Beast Boy said, playing dumb. "He was wearing a tux, had a British accent, and looked a lot like one of those butlers that come with the big, fancy mansions."

When this did not capture Robin's attention, Beast Boy decided to wake him up.

"Said his name was Alfred."

That did it. Robin's eyes went wide and he jumped up, spluttering.

"Wha-? Wh-? But-? Where is he now?" Robin said anxiously, pacing back and forth.

"He drove off with some big macho guy in a business suit in a _really_ sweet ride. Left this note for you," Beast Boy explained, holding out the carefully resealed letter. Robin snatched it from his hand and practically ran out of the room, leaving the other four Titans looking at the place where he disappeared knowingly.

"Aww, come on, B, you know better than to joke with him about…_that,_" Cyborg finished lamely.

"That's what he gets for putting parental controls on all my video games! Besides, it's not over yet. Cyborg, where's that tape recorder you found in the basement last year?"

"In the basement."

"Raven, come and get it with me!" Beast Boy whined, turning to her with pleading eyes. She had only just resumed reading when he asked her, and she closed her book shut with a snap and looked at him sharply.

"What? Me? Why me?" she deadpanned.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because!"

She huffed impatiently, but set down her book once more and followed him out of the living room. He knew she was glaring at the back of his head the entire trip down to the basement, but he smiled anyway. Today was the day his plan would be set in motion.

"Oh, look, there it is," Beast Boy said proudly, holding up the ancient tape recorder. He cackled evilly. "This'll be perfect! Oh, Robin is so gonna get his comeuppance!"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Comeuppance?"

"You should know, you told me what it means. Now come on, let's hurry, or else we're gonna miss the song!" Beast Boy grabbed her wrist and began to drag her upstairs.

"We? Beast Boy, just what are you planning to do to Robin?" She asked, curiosity enriching her usually monotone voice.

"Ha! You'll see!" Was his only reply as the reached the bottom floor. Beast Boy immediately morphed into a pterodactyl and, with the tape recorder in his claws, soared along the hallways, leaving Raven behind to close the basement doors with her powers and fly right along after him, trying to keep up with his insane pace.

"Where are we going?" she called to him, then abruptly remembered that Beast Boy couldn't speak when in animal form. So she merely contented herself to follow him up to the very top floor, curiously enough, which was where all of their rooms were located. Beast Boy seemed to think it was safe enough to resume human form again; he morphed back into a human, a wicked grin on his face, and began to walk over to – big surprise – the boy's bathroom.

"Beast Boy, Robin is –" Raven began.

"Shh! I know he's in the shower, that's the whole point. Hear?" he whispered, jabbing a finger at the door. Raven gave him a look, but put her ear to the door too, and barely managed to contain the small smile that spread across her face when she heard the team's leader's voice floating clearly out the door.

"Come on," Beast Boy said, quietly punching in the bathroom door code. Raven followed him quietly. He had a hard time trying not to laugh as he set the tape recorder on 'record' and stuffed it inside the medicine cabinet. Then, grinning, he took Raven's arm and pulled her back out into the hallway, the door closing quietly behind them. Thus was Beast boy's 'comeuppance' served.

Outside the bathroom, the pair collapsed into giggles. Well, Beast Boy did anyways. Raven managed a few soft chuckles before easing her face into a small but delighted smile. Poor Robin. What would he say once he had discovered what they'd done? But as he began another verse, Beast Boy's guilt wavered and he pressed his ear against the door, listening with a broad grin on his face to Robin's song:

_Jingle Bells! Batman smells!_

_Robin laid an egg!_

_The Batmobile lost a wheel,_

_And the Joker got away!_

_Hey! Ohhh_

_Jingle Bells! Cyborg smells!_

_But Robin's a-okay!_

_Raven thinks,_

_That Beast Boy stinks!_

_And Starfire flew away!_

_Hey!_

It was a good thing that at that moment Raven chose to teleport them to right outside the living room, because Beast Boy just could not take it anymore. He exploded as the darkness surrounded him, and when Raven released him and he fell to the ground, laughing, he stayed there, rolling around and clutching his sides until tears began to fall down his face. Even she, he noted, was smiling slightly, and he could have sworn that her face, now hidden underneath her hood, was a delicate shade of pink.

"That was fun," he gasped a few minutes later. "Admit it, Raven, you had fun."

"Congratulations," she said, turning away from him. "You got me to laugh. Now you can die happy."

She began to walk away, and that's when Beast Boy knew that he had to do it. Now. So, mentally steeling himself, he grabbed her wrist and twirled her around, and hugged her. He felt her freeze up in his embrace and almost immediately let go, giving her a brief smile before dashing back into the living room. As the doors closed behind him, he could have sworn he heard a small explosion out in the hall. He smiled.

Beast Boy watched the screen anxiously as Starfire disappeared swiftly into the inky blackness of space. What was she doing? Didn't she know that she only had about ten seconds to get as far away from that thing as possible? Eight seconds…six seconds…four seconds…Where _was_ she? Two seconds…zero…Starfire?

The explosion unfolded slowly before them, first a brilliant, blinding white light, and then a thunderous boom that rocked the entire ship with its force. Beast Boy vaguely remembered standing up as he stared in horror at the screen – it would have been more appropriate for him to fall to his knees. The Titans and Val'yore watched in wide eyed silence as the last of the force washed over his ship like waves, and then there was a heartbeat in which Stafire was the only name they could manage to think of.

And then suddenly, they heard her. "You may proceed safely," Starfire declared, sounding shaky but triumphant. In that instant relief flooded him from head to toe and Beast Boy was able to breathe again, and he gave a whoop of delight, jumping up and punching his fist into the air with joy.

Laughing gleefully, he waved his hands in the air. "You rock!" Beast Boy exclaimed, overwhelmed by just how thankful he was that Starfire was safe. But he knew she'd be fine all along, of course. He let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and chanced a glance over at Raven in the seat opposite him. His breath caught in his throat; Raven was smiling.

He didn't even know how he got over to her side, but as he walked over he heard himself saying to her "Never doubted her for a second!" And he threw his arms around her middle.

She was warm, and soft, and the way she felt in his arms reminded him greatly of Rita, and very distantly of his mother. For a minute, everything that had just occurred in the past intense moments evaporated from his mind and he looked up at her just in time to see a glimpse of surprise etch across her features as their gazes met. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he should probably say something so as to not freak her out.

"Raven, you really shouldn't worry so much," was all that he could manage. Raven responded with her usual I-swear-if-you-don't-get-off-me-now-I-will-dismember-your-organs glare. He withdrew, (only because he feared for his life!) and childishly raised his hands up in surrender as she narrowed her eyes at him. Oh, well, at least he had tried. Although not entirely planned out, he thought hug #2 went down rather well.

"So…what makes you go all glowy-in-the-dark?" Beast Boy asked. _Just keep talking, _he told himself_. Talking keeps you calm. Keeps you focused. _He tried his best to remain composed, to not lose his saneness altogether. Oh, Raven. If only she had told them sooner. Told him.

"It's a warning," she answered, though he heard her only vaguely. "It means Trigon's coming – and the way he gets here is through me." She paused for a second. He saw her hesitate, saw her hands twitch and he could tell she was making a spur of the moment decision. "I'm not just a person…I'm a portal."

A portal? What was that supposed to mean? She wasn't really fated to – to _die_, was she? No, it was impossible. A world without Raven wasn't…well. And what of what significance was she to this Trigon creature anyhow? Who was he to try and rip his way into their world through Raven? And why Raven?

Robin seemed to be thinking along the exact same lines. "But Raven, why you?" he asked, rising from his spot across from them and sitting down on the opposite side of Raven.

"Because," Raven said miserably. She looked defeated. "Trigon…is my father."

Her words took a moment to sink in. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg gaped at her with wide eyes, while Beast Boy merely looked at her. Her father. Really, it wasn't surprising to him at all. Actually, it all sort of made sense. Raven had always been dark, and he knew that she, like Terra, so much like Terra, had struggled to keep it under control. He had wondered why she thought she was evil, even though she had never shared this with any of them, and now he knew why. Some father. He'd made Raven's life a living Hell all these years. Beast Boy raised his eyes to her once more as she continued to speak.

"Bad things are going to happen soon. Really bad things. And it's going to be my fault. I thought I could handle this alone. I tried, but, I was wrong." Raven said, standing up and striding over to the window. The light of the dawn painted soft patterns of rosy pink and baby blue on her pale face, which didn't altogether suit her, but at the same time did. Beast Boy shook his head and stood up, intending to join her along with the other Titans at the window.

"For confiding in us, we are most humbled." Starfire said, placing a gentle hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven looked at her, weary and defeated, but managed a small smile. A heartbreakingly helpless, exhausted smile, but beautiful all the same.

"I only have one question-how do we stop him?" Cyborg said with an air of bellicose determination. He was glaring down at Raven, not in a mean way, just enough to prove to her that he was ready, that they were all ready to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

"We don't" Raven said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"But that doesn't mean we still can't try," Beast Boy quipped, offering her a grin. She looked at him and their gazes locked, and as she looked at him he saw all the raw pain and crushed hopes that were always so much a part of her, now overcome her. He wanted to wince, to draw back and recoil from her and her devastating future. But he wouldn't – couldn't. He never could. So instead he walked up to her, his eyes never leaving hers, and put an arm around her, drawing her closer to him. She didn't stiffen up, or threaten to dislocate anything, or even glare at him. She just looked at him with so much gratitude, yet so much hopelessness and he felt his heart ache for her.

They turned back to the window, his arm still around her shoulders, and watched in silence as the blazing sun rose, in all its glory, from the sea, throwing vivid shades of orange and yellow into the world and littering sparkles on the water. _It was beautiful, _Beast Boy thought. He glanced at Raven. _Yet it didn't compare_.

That had been some time ago, approximately three months. Since then, Beast Boy felt the need to hug Raven had gone, that that third time was most definitely enough to prove to her that he _did_ care, that she _wasn't_ alone, yet…he didn't want to stop hugging her. He was pretty sure that he was the only one on the team who had dared to embrace her, and it wasn't as though he enjoyed that or anything, but it made him feel good.

He kicked a rock in his path, and it skirted over the rocky terrain, leaping over little pointy boulders and skipping downwards towards the water until finally it disappeared over the ledge with a plop and vanished out of sight.

Beast Boy sighed, bored. Out of his mind. Robin's stupid _parental controls_ were still on all his video games, Cyborg was out doing something with Bumblebee, and Starfire was with Robin, 'adventuring to the land of the Disney,' as she had put it. And as for Raven - she was on also, to his utmost surprise and dislike, on a _date_. Not that it bothered him. But still. So some pretty-boy gangster had saved her in their battle with the Hive. Big deal! Beast Boy saved her all the time; it's just that at that particular moment he'd been knocked out cold by Mammoth while trying to reach her. And she would have been alright anyways – she'd only been trapped under a bus.

Beast Boy sighed again, trying to turn his thoughts somewhere other than Raven. He'd been thinking about her a lot lately. It wasn't healthy. He kicked another rock over the edge of the water and sat down, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He stared out across the ocean, and then turned and scanned the city, wondering where Raven could be. Would she agree to go with pretty-boy gangster to some movie? Or perhaps they went out to that fair on the far side of town? Certainly she wouldn't drag him to that weird café where she always went, wouldn't she? And he doubted she would want to stop by her favorite bookstore if she wanted the date to go well.

Beast Boy huffed. Really, it shouldn't have bothered him. It didn't. Not at all. So why was he getting himself all worked up about some guy that she didn't even know? It was very unreasonable. He should stop. He huffed again and got up, and, not feeling like walking all the way back up to the entrance, transformed into a hummingbird and zipped back up towards the tower. The front door was in sight when he spotted a shiny black Jeep parked on the shore, and he looked over to the entrance to see pretty-boy gangster standing there with Raven.

They said a few quiet words to each other and then pretty-boy gangster strutted off, looking very pleased with himself. At the edge of the island he turned to look at Raven, and she, flustered, fumbled for the switch that triggered the bridge. It rose up out of the water, dripping wet, and he swaggered across to his Jeep. Beast Boy saw Raven watch him go, and he would have narrowed his eyes if his hummingbird eyelids could do that.

As soon as that hateful black Jeep had turned the corner, Raven glanced up at the fluttering green interloper.

"Beast Boy, I know you're there. Get down here," she commanded in her usual monotone.

Sheepishly, Beast Boy morphed back into his human self, giving her an apologetic grin. "Sorry, Rae. I – um, was on my way back inside when I saw you guys out here. So how'd it go?" he asked, mainly to keep her from sensing his distress.

She shrugged. "He's not really my type. Nice guy, though."

"Oh," was all that he could manage. His gaze fell on her strange new deportment, and he decided to tell her, "You look nice."

Raven glanced down at her jeans and blouse. "Thanks," she said, looking up at him. "Starfire picked them out for me. These things are quite comfortable when worn right."

Beast Boy smiled. She really did look nice. It was quite a difference from her usual

Ensemble, and he liked it. It wasn't often that the Titans got to wear normal clothes and fit in.

"So, are we just gonna stand here or are we gonna go in?" Raven asked, calling him back to earth.

"Oh. Right," he muttered, punching in the pass code. The door slid open and he made a gesture as if to say, "After you."

"Why's it so dark in here?" Raven said, and then suddenly an unfamiliar voice shouted, "Attack!" and suddenly the dark entrance hallway was brightly lit by a flaming streak which collided with an unsuspecting Raven. She barely even had time to put up a defensive barrier before it crashed into her and sent her flying back until she hit the wall and slid down. Furious, Beast Boy morphed into a fox and ran towards the figure who was now aiming at him, dodging bursts of fire until he was close enough to pounce on him. He leapt onto him, transforming into a rhinoceros in midair and pinning the intruder to the floor.

"Who are you?" Beast Boy demanded, only it came out as an ear-splitting roar. The man he'd pinned just laughed and blasted him off with another flaming ball. Beast Boy tasted the heat on his lips and morphed into a salamander, narrowly avoiding the bursts of flame that the man was heaving out of his bare hands.

"Am I to understand that my dearest foes have forgotten such a worthy nemesis as Dr. Light?" the man declared, still trying to hit Beast Boy with his fire balls.

"Dr. Light?" Raven asked. Beast Boy turned to see her stand up, rubbing her head irritably. "What'd you do, swallow a bottle of steroids?"

"You look like you've been hitting the gym, dude," Beast Boy remarked, nervously eyeing Dr. Light's newfound biceps. "Gettin' some fiber in that diet, eh?"

Dr. Light's only response was to hurl yet another fireball at them. By now the entire entrance hall was ablaze, and the smoke was beginning to suffocate them. Raven attacked by the air, while Beast Boy changed into a cheetah and ran at him. He pounced on him, protected by one of Raven's dark shields, and managed to pin him to the ground once again. Raven immediately swooped down upon them and engulfed Dr. Light's hands in her energy, and when he tried to fire at them he screamed with pain as he burned his own hands. Beast Boy resumed his human form, thinking they had done with him, when he received a deafening blow to the right side of his head.

"Ugh," he said, staggering. He didn't even notice that Raven was now engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Dr. Light, using her powers to strike. She was doing well until Dr. Light managed to land a punch to her stomach, and she fell back with a grunt and landed, unconscious, on the floor. Beast Boy clenched his teeth and ran at Dr. Light, leaping into the air and morphing into a lizard. He landed on his shoulder and began to crawl up his neck, taking care to scratch the man as he went. When he reached Dr. Light's head, he transformed into an elephant and smiled at the satisfying crunch he heard as he squashed him. He hopped off immediately, however, as his intentions were not to kill, and saw that he had knocked Dr. Light out cold.

"Whew," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow. Carefully avoiding the flames, he ran towards Raven, coughing and fanning the smoke away from his nose with his hands. She was still fainted, and the stillness of her body rather frightened him, sending a cold chill down his spine. She wasn't dead…was she?

"Raven!" he said, kneeling down and shaking her. "Raven, wake up! Are you okay?"

Still she didn't move. Heart pounding, Beast Boy leaned his ear against her chest, and to his great relief, heard her pulse. He shook her again and again, and called her name over and over. Finally, he heard her cough weakly and she opened her eyes.

"Raven!" Beast Boy said in relief. "You're alive!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed," she said, wincing as she sat up. She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes in pain, and a white light began emitting from her fingertips. After a few seconds it seemed to recede, and she sat up the rest of the way without so much as a groan.

"How do you think he got in?" Beast Boy asked, jerking a thumb back at the unconscious form of Dr. Light.

"Hmm," she said, reaching up and lightly touching the side of his face. His heart began to hammer at her boldness, but then he felt the throbbing headache begin to drain away and he realized with a blush that she was only healing him. "Did you forget to lock the door on your way out?"

"….Ah…"

"Ah," she said. "So that's it. Beast Boy, how many times have we told you not to leave the door unlocked when you go outside?"

"At least - _sixteen times_, but who's counting?"

She just shook her head. "Come on," she said as he helped her up. "Let's get him outta here and get this place cleaned up. I'm rather excited about telling Cyborg that you nearly burned down the tower while they were out."

Beast Boy looked at her, and once again, tugged her wrist to twirl her back around and threw his arms around her. She seemed surprised, but not totally unprepared for it, (after all – he'd been hugging her a lot lately) and let them stay like that for a moment as he said into her hair, "I'm just glad you're okay."

When he did not withdraw, Raven cleared her throat, her face burning brighter than the flames that surrounded them. "Um…you can let go now…"

"Oh," he said, stepping back with a blush. "Sorry."

He swore he could have heard both their hearts pounding as they began to repair the entrance hall.

Beast Boy raised his hands over his face, flinching slightly as the brilliant, pure white light washed over them like an enormous tidal wave. And then suddenly, it was gone. As was the blood red sky and the crumbled ruins of the city. In fact, the sky was the most beautiful shade of baby blue, and the world was back. Was _back_. Their favorite pizza place stood next to them, tall and welcoming, and looking exactly as it had the last time they'd visited. The streets were smooth and clean, and pedestrians were walking along happily, blissfully unaware of everything that had just occurred. And in the distance, he could see their tower, their home, standing bright and triumphant in the mid-day sun.

Raven descended from the sky, clothed in white and surrounded by a dazzling light, looking remarkably like an angel. She touched down gently, her hair hanging down all the way to her waist. Beast Boy watched her, wide-eyed, as she opened her eyes and looked around her, seeming not in the least bit surprised of her surroundings. Starfire was the first one to speak.

"Raven," she said, floating towards her in awe. "That was-"

"Unbelievable," Cyborg said, shaking his head.

Raven smiled. A radiant, happy smile that seemed to unfold from the depths of her heart. "No," she said. "It wasn't. Somebody believed." And she threw her arms around Robin.

"Welcome back," he said, touching her back lightly and smiling down at her. Suddenly, Beast Boy couldn't take it.

"Okay, you're freaking me out here!" he exclaimed dramatically, pointing an accusatory finger at her. She let Robin go and they turned and looked at him in surprise. "The white robe and smile are weird enough, but _hugs_?" Beast Boy looked at her in scrutiny, examining every inch of her face, making sure that it really was Raven who was standing there, smiling at him in the sunlight. "Are you still…you?"

"Blue is still my favorite color," she said, returning to her normal monotone. "And don't get used to the smile, because you're still not funny," Raven finished, sticking her chin up at him and wrinkling her nose. And that's when he knew that she was back, that Raven was alive and whole, and he felt his entire face light up and his heart soar as she stood frowning at him with all that wonderful familiarity. Overwhelmed with relief and flooded with joy, he rushed at her and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her as hard as he could.

"_Raven_!" Beast Boy yelled happily.

"Quit it!" She snapped. Although she didn't really do anything else to try and make him let go.

It took a total of five hugs to get Beast Boy to realize just exactly how he felt about Raven. Just five. _And yet,_ he thought to himself as he lay on his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, _I think I've always known, deep down. I never really had a choice in the matter. _He smiled, picturing Raven's smile, hearing Raven's laugh, and sighed deeply.

What was he supposed to do now? It's not like she'd feel the same way about him, not in a million years. But that didn't stop his heart from racing when she entered the room, it didn't stop him staring at her when he knew that she wasn't looking, and it most certainly didn't stop him from hoping that maybe someday, they could be…well, for the time being they weren't anything more than friends. Maybe this is how Starfire felt. Only she was actually naïve enough to think that Robin didn't return her feelings. So his situation was only slightly different. It wasn't like he could get her to fall for him…

_That's it!_Beast Boy thought, sitting up in his bed so suddenly that Silkie nearly tumbled to the floor. _I can do that, I can make Raven fall for me too, with all those little gestures she always appreciates, like making her tea for her, or bringing the books she leaves out back to her room for her, and even being quiet when she's trying to meditate. _He grinned impishly at the thought of the looks on her face when she realized what he was doing for her. Yes, it was foolproof. Make Raven fall in love with him. How hard could that be? And then he would ask her out, and they'd date for several years, and then he'd ask her to marry him, and Starfire would be maid of honor, and Cyborg would be best man, and Robin would give her away, and she'd refuse to wear a big poofy dress, and then they'd have children, and they'd watch them grow up, and they would grow old together….

Beast Boy shook his head, telling himself that he was getting way to ahead of himself. _One step at a time_, he thought, sighing. Or perhaps it didn't have to even be in several steps. Perhaps it could be in just one step. Like what? Like telling her how he felt? Nah. Like saving her life and flying off into the sunset? Eh. What about kissing her? Oh, he liked that idea. Yes, to kiss her would be…wonderful, and…wonderful. Perhaps he should. Well, no. Oh, but how he wanted to! He closed his eyes and imagined himself leaning in close to her face, feeling her breath on his lips, running his hand through her hair…

Ugh. What a lovesick fool he was making out of himself. Yet the idea would not exit his head. It was perfect, really. To kiss her, over and over, and do little but meaningful gestures to show her how he felt, until he finally he'd have the courage to tell her. It sounded foolproof.

Restless, and filled with enthusiasm, Beast Boy leapt off his bed, landing on the ground in a crouch and somersaulting across the room where he sprang up and threw open the door, running out into the hall in hopes of finding Raven and kissing her full and open on the mouth. He returned in a moment, however, a sheepish blush on his face, realizing that it was the middle of the night and she was probably asleep.

Oh, well. He'd kiss her tomorrow.

Wow, you know, you have the most beautiful eyes, and the brightest smile, and your is just flippin amazing, and you look so stunning in that shirt, and the light hitting you is just so flattering…gosh, you know, I bet you're one of those people who leave reviews for little writers like me, because you're just so dang sexy, and you know, it's scientifically proven that sexiness causes the desire to praise people's works.


End file.
